WE HAD SOME REALLY MEANINGFUL INTERACTIONS AT POINTS AND EVEN GAINED A MOURNER FOR ONE LEG OF THE JOURNEY ~ Jo Lane ~ ‘The Death of Humanity’ was a protest that didn’t look like a protest. Ahead of International Human Rights Day, a convoy of artists and activists carried a funeral wreath reading ‘HUMANITY’, stopping at key landmarks across London and Manchester, until the wreaths were laid down at their final resting places. Born from an acknowledgement that traditional protest does not ‘reach’ everyone, this was an opportunity for people to experience a different narrative, one whereby they don’t feel like they are being told what to think. The hope was it would provide people with an experience that left space for them to find their own emotional connection to the theme, creating opportunities for understanding different perspectives, and building bridges for potential change. In London, we had a couple of ‘mourners from afar’ at each action who would interact with the public. If people chose to interact and find out more they were met with compassionate, restorative conversations, and if they asked, we shared our motivations behind the piece. Manchester. Photo: Karol Wyszynski We had some really meaningful interactions at points and even gained a mourner for one leg of the journey. One man, although agreed with the concept, was uncomfortable with the ‘morbidity’ suggesting we need to bring hope to the world, rather than further misery and pain. Although I completely agree with this sentiment, and a lot of my work is hopeful in its nature, I also believe it is important to carve space for, and honour the feelings of helplessness that so many of us have felt recently. My favourite comment I overheard on Sunday was “Mummy what does that say” to which her Mum responded “I don’t know”. We will never know whether this was her not wanting to delve into this deep discussion with their daughter, or if she actually didn’t know what it said. Either way feels quite poignant for me. The Manchester action was bleak and miserable with regards to weather, which added its own surreal and poignant vibe, all of us kitted out with big black umbrellas like the opening scene of a Batman Movie. We spent 2 hours carrying the wreath from place to place until we laid it down at its final resting place. It was an endurance in itself. The constant rain coupled with it being a busy shopping day ahead of Christmas meant that most people had little capacity to stop and take notice, it was as if we didn’t exist at times. If we were looking to confirm the concept that people are so wrapped up and busy in their own lives that they don’t see the suffering around them, we succeeded. The juxtaposition of the stark visual of a colourful funeral wreath imprinted on people’s brains in the midst of their Christmas shopping, is a powerful subliminal message. The timing of the piece was paramount due to International Human Rights Day, but if we were to do this action again we would love to find a day of significance in summer months as the potential for engagement and participation in the summer would be even more impactful. I just want to give a huge appreciation to all those who participated in the action, to ARTCRY for funding such important, responsive political artwork, and to UNION: Northern School for Creativity and Activism where so many new ideas and friendships were born. At present Instagram has deactivated our account saying we haven’t followed community standards and account integrity! but hopefully we will be back soon. So here is our handle just in case. @deathofhumanity_action #TheDeathOfHumanity -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top photo: London. Ray Malone The post Art action: “The Death of Humanity” appeared first on Freedom News.

MIKE AND SIMON DISCUSS THE OPPORTUNISM WHICH HAS BEEN ON DISPLAY IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE STABBING ATTACK AT A MOSQUE IN MANCHESTER, AND THE MISERABLE TORY PARTY CONFERENCE After Manchester, we saw police, the media and Labour arguing that somehow this should justify not protesting against the butchery of Gaza, then shortly afterwards, the new Home Secretary started talking about bans against “regular protests” that quite obviously are directed against the Palestine protesters. Most recently Keir Starmer has gone so far as to suggest “inflammatory chants” should go in the ban pot. He plans to consult members of the Jewish community—presumably not the ones who attend the protests. Meanwhile at Tory conference, every headline that’s come out of the conference has been miserable. Not just the content but the tone. From nobody being there (including protesters) to Kemi Badenoch having to make excuses for Robert Jenrick’s racism. The post Anarchist News Review: Labour hammers protest and Tories hammer each other appeared first on Freedom News.